Many people are familiar with various types of insurance like life, health, car and home insurance. Homeowners, for example, purchase home insurance in order to have certain items in the house covered if they happen to break or malfunction. However, fewer people know about medical pay benefits insurance, which is a policy that drivers can add to their car insurance to help pay their medical expenses in the event that they are involved in a motor vehicle accident. Here are some frequently asked questions about how med-pay insurance works.
What Is Med-Pay?
While most states require motorists to carry automobile insurance, only a handful require drivers to have med-pay coverage. In other states, such as California, med-pay is optional. Although this type of coverage is added to automobile coverage, people might also think of it as an extension of their health insurance policy. The reason for this is that med-pay insurance is specifically designed to help pay for medical expenses resulting from a car accident, whether that expense is physical therapy to recover from whiplash, a cast to help heal a broken bone or treatment for any of the other many injuries that can occur during a motor vehicle accident.
How Does Med-Pay Work?
Often, car insurance only covers injuries for the driver who was not determined to be at fault for an accident. However, med-pay works a little differently because it pays for medical bills regardless of who caused the crash. This means that, in general, payments go out more quickly than payments would from a car insurance company since the med-pay company does not have to wait around for a determination regarding who caused the accident.
If a motorist wishes to file a claim using med-pay, they should start by contacting their car insurance company. Once med-pay approves the claim, they will pay the driver’s healthcare provider directly for any treatments that the driver receives as a result of their car accident injuries. This takes some of the financial stress off the policyholder after going through the already difficult event of experiencing a car accident.
What Expenses Does Med-Pay Cover?
The main reason why a motorist might sign up for med-pay, aside from it being required in their state of residence, is to receive assistance with covering the cost of medical bills. Healthcare in the United States can be quite expensive, and many people do not have medical insurance through an employer or the government. However, in addition to medical bills from visiting the doctor, med-pay also covers things such as:
- The ambulance ride from the site of the accident to the hospital
- Any dental work needed as a result of the car accident
- The cost of prosthetic limbs, if a limb was lost during the accident
- Funeral costs, if a death results from the automobile crash
Med-pay can potentially pay for a wider variety of things than some car insurance policies. If a driver decides to obtain med-pay coverage, it is in their best interest to know exactly what expenses the policy covers and what it does not.
In What Situations Can Policyholders Use Med-Pay?
Policyholders should note that med-pay not only pays to treat injuries that the driver sustains in an accident but any injuries sustained by their passengers as well. Med-pay also pays for injuries sustained while the policyholder is a passenger rather than a driver. In addition, if the policyholder is involved in an accident while using public transportation or as a pedestrian, they can make a claim on their med-pay policy for that as well.
Which Type of Medical Pay Benefits Policy Is Best?
The best med-pay policy depends on the person who takes out the plan. Like with most types of insurance policies, people receive the best coverage when they pay more for the policy each month. For someone who has a short commute or who does not drive much in general, it may not be worth it to them to take out a policy with a higher premium. However, it may be very well worth it to someone who drives long distances frequently or who travels on more dangerous roads.
Drivers should also consider what their health insurance does and does not cover when deciding which med-pay policy to take out. For example, if someone has a high deductible on their health insurance or has no health insurance at all, they might consider taking out a more expensive med-pay plan. Medical debt is one of the more common types of debt in the United States, and medical pay benefits coverage can help fill any gaps that medical insurance does not cover.
Have More Questions?
If a motorist has additional questions about taking out a medical pay benefits policy in addition to their car insurance policy, contact the Law Offices of Brent D. George for more information.
